Playing racket



May 211940.- WHALL "2,201,263

PLAYING RACKET Filed July 28, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J0 @Il j 3o I Z6' Il I I -f-.L/ Z v6 6 401," f-"ZO May 21, 1940 H. w. HALL PLAYING mcxm Filed July' 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 21, 1940 Unirse stares A@PATENT ortica 8 Claims.

This invention relates to playing rackets such as are used to play games of tennis, badminton, squash and the like, and a method of manufacture.

One object of my invention is to perfect the construction of a high grade racket toA overcome the likelihood of certain parts to split'or crack. Another object is to lighten the weight ofthe racket to meet the popular demand for lighter rackets without making it correspondingly weak and vulnerable. A further object is to provide such a construction in a racket that is neat and smooth in appearance and is distinctive looking and attractive.

Still another objecthas been to provide a different construction of the grasping portion of the handle which corresponds in contour'with the grasping portion of the players hand and gives f to the racket a feeling of lightness and balance and thereby gives tothe player, a sense of mastery over it.

Furthermore I provide a new method of manu.

facture in strengthening the inside of the oval or bow head portion of the racket with laminations that extend from shoulder to shoulder of said bow head.

The foregoing and other objects which will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, may be accomplished by a construction, combination and arrangement of parts such as is disclosed by the drawings and specification. The nature of the invention issuch as to render it susceptibleto various changes and modifications, and, therefore, I am not to be limited to said disclosures; but am entitled to all such changes therefrom as fall within the scope of my claims.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a playing racket.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary, front elevational View of a playing racket in a certain stage of manufacture, showing the crescent shaped inside reinforcing strips united to each other and to the inside of the racket bow head, as they appear when the work of sanding them is completed. f

Figure 4 isa sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the inside -reinforcing strips for the racket bow Vhead before they are bent, showing all but the top reinforcing strip glued together in a block ready to be insorted in place inside the bowliead, and `showing the top reinforcing strip separate from the others.

As illustrated, my racket consists of the oval portion or bow head It) and a straight handle p0rtion Il. At the lower portion of said bow head lo is a throat which, as shown, consists of a center strip l5 extending beyond the throat into and forming part of said handle portion li and two side pieces i6 which taper downwardly in width to a point at the base of said throat. The solid or one-piece throat could likewise be Vused in manufacturing this racket. y Y, In better grade rackets the said handle portion ll is thickened and reinforced by outside cover pieces 20 on both faces and both sides of .the racket handle, commonly extending to the base of the throat, being gradually tapered in width and `thickness towards said throat, and being sanded down to feather edge thickness at and adjacent their terminating points at said throat base. Quite often thesecover pieces are shattered or split at or near said terminating point due to strains and vibrations through the racket caused by striking a ball a hard blow or by other impacts. To overcome this I shorten my said handle cover pieces 2t and leave anabutment edge 2l at a point substantially below said throat base, and above the usual grasping portion of said handle Il. Above and directly against this handle cover piece abutment edge 2l I place a small reinforcing plate 25 the lower edge of which abuts against said edge 2|. This plate is preferably made of wood, the grain of which preferably runs crosswise, of said handle and at approximately right angles to the longitudinal axis oi the racket. Inasmuch as the grain of said handle cover pieces runs lengthwise, that is, parallel with the longitudinal axis of the racket, the cross graining .of said plate 25 will eifectively interrupt any vibration passing through said handle so that no splitting of said handle Vcover piece 2i! 4,will oc-f cur. Said plate 25 is tapered in thickness or feather edged at its upper end Yasat i6 to improve its appearance. These plates 25 are preferably made of laminations as shown, although they can be made of one piece of wood or liber or v.other suitable material. Between said plate 25 andthe base of the throat ythis intermediate `part `28 .of said handle portion lIl is not covered either on thetwo faces or sides ofsaidhandlabeing merely a part of vthe lmain frame of the racket that is bent to form the'said bow head .It and handle `l I. This reduces the weight of the racket which is a desirable end in promoting its sale to those demanding a light weight racket. n

At the base of said throat the glue joints need reinforcing, consequently it is preferable to place another reinforcing plate 30 similar to the plate 25 at this point, which is preferably sanded to a thin edge at the top and bottom as shown in Figure 2 of the drawings.

To obtain the maximum strength at the inside of the bow head l0 from shoulder to shoulder and across the topk of the throat I provide thin laminations or reinforcing strips, illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings, which are of the same width and are bent to follow the curvature of this inside portion of said bow head l0. As illustrated in the lowest lamination 33, which isglued or otherwise affixed directly to the bowhead and throat of the racket, the grainA runs longitudinally. In the next lamination 34 above the grain runs longitudinally. The next lamination 35 above is the thickest of all said laminations below or above, and the grain runs crosswise. Above this lamination 35 is another lamination 36 with the grain running lengthwise. All four laminations 33, 34, 35 andi36, after being glued in place, are thinned down by sanding at their ends, which leaves four exposed ends on each side of said bow head at its shoulders S. The ends 33a of said lamination 33, after being sanded, extend farther up the shoulders than the ends 34a of the next said lamination 34, and the ends 35a 'of said lamination 35 are still shorter, while the ends 36a of said lamination 36 are the shortest when all are sanded down. When said laminations 33, 3B, 35 and 36 are inserted inside the bow head l0 they are preferably of the same length, and all four are glued or otherwise joined together, forming a single block B, as shown in Figure 5 of the drawings, the glue or other adhe sive being wet or `pliable enough to permit them to slip one upon the other when theyA are placed on the inside surface of said bow head lll. When the glue or other adhesive has set said four laminations 33, 34, 35 and 33 are sanded down at their ends, starting with the upper one 36 which is left the shortest, and proceeding with the sanding down through the next one 35 which is left a little longer, and then to lamination 34 which is left a little longer than lamination 35, and finally to the lower lamination 33y which is sanded very little. This sanding operation leaves the ends 33a, 34a, 35a and 36a of the four said laminations constituting said block B visible when looking inside the bow rhead I3. The next step consists in gluing the longer lamination 3l over said lamination 36. The grain in said lamination 31 runs longitudinally, and its ends Sa extend beyond all the other said ends 33a, 34a., 35a and 36a, so that only the said end 31a on each shoulder of said bow head I0 shows. VAfter the glue is set said lamination 31 is sanded down at its two ends, this usually being part of the finishing operation of the racket. Said laminations 33, 34, 35, 36 and 31 thoroughly cross band the joints between the said bow head lil and said throat, and in case of a three piece throat the joints between the said center strip l5 vand said side pieces `lli as well. The number of said laminations could be varied, as, for instance, the lamination v3l! could be omitted, although allr five are preferred, and the relative arrangement of longitudinal and cross-grained laminations may also be varied. All of said laminations are covered at the faces of the `racket by face reinforcing piece 38 which extendsfrom shoulder to shoulder as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, on each face of the racket. While these laminations are preferably made of wood some could be used that are made of other material, and fibre has been found particularly suitable to makek said top lamination 31 of.

In further pursuance of my object in so perfecting a playing racket that it has afeel to the player of lightness and balance I so construct the lower or grasping portion of said handle Il that it may be more firmly grasped by the hand of the player, and will t the contour of the flesh extending from the lower portion of the thumb tothe lower portion of the forefinger almost perfectly in most players. Said grasping portion of said handle ll is octagonal-shaped in cross-section, having eight flat surfaces, of which two are the front or face surfaces 39. On either side of each said face surfaces 39 are diagonally extending surfaces lill which slant outwardly and terminate at side surfaces 4i which are shorter in width than said diagonal surfaces 4i), as illustrated in Figure 6 of the drawings. In the standard construction of playing rackets the diagonal surfaces l0 in the grasping portion ofthe handle have always been the shortest of all the surfaces, whereas in my invention the side surfaces 4|, which are at right angles to said face surfaces 39, are the shortest in width of all said surfaces.

The term sanding is used to denote any grad ual cutting or mechanical sanding away of the material used.

What I claimV is:

l. A playing racket having a bow head, throat and handle, a cover piece on the face of said handle extending towards said throat and terminating at a point spaced from said throat, a wooden reinforcing plate on the face of said handle immediately beyond said cover piece and spaced from said throat a distance greater than ythe width of said plate, the grain of said plate running substantially across said handle.

2. A playing racket having a bow head, throat and handle, a cover piece on the face of said handle extending towards said throat and terminating at a point spaced a substantial distance from said throat, a reinforcing plate kon the face of said handle, abutting said cover piece and spaced a substantial distance from said throat,`

a portion of said handle above said reinforcing plate being uncovered.

3. A playing racket having a bow head, throat and handle, a cover piece on the face of said handle extending towards said throat and terminating a substantial distance from the base of said throat, a reinforcing plate on the* face of said handle immediately beyond the terminating point of said cover piece, and another reinforcing plate on said handle face at the base of said throat, and spaced from the rst mentioned reinforcing plate, the portion of said handle between said plates being uncovered.

4. A playing racket having a bow head, throat and handle, a wood cover piece on the face of said handle extending towards said throat and terminating with a blunt abutment end a substantial distance from the base of said throat, the grain of which extends longitudinally, a wood reinforcing plate on the face of said handle immediately above and in contact with 'said abutment end and spaced a substantial distance from said throat, the grain of which extends crosswise. i

-5. A playing racket having a handle gripping portion having two'front face surfaces and two side surfaces at right angles thereto, and four surfaces being greater in width than said side surfaces.

6. A playing racket having a handle gripping portion which is octagonal shaped in tranverse section, having two face surfaces of the same width, two side surfaces of the same Width and four surfaces extending diagonally between said face surfaces and said side surfaces of the sameA width, the width of said diagonal surfaces being greater than the width of said side surfaces.

'7. A playing racket having a handle gripping portion having two front face surfaces and two side surfaces at right angles thereto, and four surfaces extending diagonally between said face surfaces and said side surfaces, said diagonal surfaces being greater in width than said side surfaces, and lesser in width than said face surfaces.

8. A playing racket having a handle gripping portion which is octagonal shaped in transverse section having two face surfaces of the same Width, two side surfaces of the same width and four surfaces extending diagonally between said face surfaces and said side surfaces of the saine width, the Width of said diagonal surfaces being greater than the width of said side surfaces, and the width of said face surfaces being greater than the Width of all other said surfaces.

HORACE W. HALL. 

